Aug. 31, 2001 – Sunday evening will bring a Jazz Vespers presentation to the St. Croix Reformed Church in Estate La Reine. "Life Is a Song Worth Singing" is the theme of the performance — and the title of the CD that will be recorded live at the concert.
Adjoa and Friends are the artists — that's Claudette "Adjoa" Young-Hinds on vocals with jazz artist friends Marcus Rabb on trumpet, Benjamin Jacobs-El at the piano, Marsvyn David on bass and Ken Afra Dailey on drums.
Willard John will be recording the concert live to produce a CD.
Adjoa began singing in harmony as a child with her mother and siblings and has performed with Hugh Masakela, Billy Paul and Akwaaba. She appeared at the 1992 St. Croix Jazz in Paradise Festival with the Yusuf Saleem/Freeman Ledbetter Group.
Rabb began playing trumpet as a youth in Baltimore and eventually got his master's degree in music from Howard University, which he attended on full music scholarship. He has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Milt Jackson and Joe Henderson — and has studied chamber music in France. A St. Croix resident since 1997, he teaches music on the elementary school level.
Jacobs-El, who grew up in Brooklyn, played trombone for much of his career, starting with the Newport Youth Band and The New York Jazz Septet. After three years at the Juilliard School of Music, he went on the road with Slide Hampton. He played with the Coker Camble Band, which backed Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, The Temptations and other Motown artists. He first visited St. Croix in 1963 while touring with Lionel Hampton, then in 1974 moved to the island — where he made the transition from trombone to piano.
David, who is also a writer, arranger and producer, has had four compositions recorded by the Howard University Jazz Band and has produced numerous jingles locally. He is music director for Orquesta Taboga, a Latin band.
Dailey initially studied flute and clarinet; he got his first drum gig — with The Modern Ink Spots — after a member of the group heard him practicing at his mother's home, knocked on her door and asked her if he could join them. He has worked at Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studios, where "the Philly sound" originated, and has toured with Grover Washington, Betty Carter and The Dells. He currently is a member of The Roy Davis Trio.
Jazz Vespers concerts are presented the first Sunday of each month. They are family-oriented events, and young and aspiring musicians are especially welcome to enjoy the music and to interact after the performance with the featured artists.
Upcoming Jazz Vespers concerts will feature guitarist/pannist Dan Dixon and his quartet on Oct. 7, Black Diamond on Nov. 4, and The Elvis Pedro Quartet on Dec. 2.
The St. Croix Reformed Church is located on the hill above the Kingshill Post Office ni Estate La Reine. The performance is set for 5:30 p.m. Admission is free, and seating is unreserved. "Because of the increasing attendance, it is suggested that people arrive a little early to get the best seats," a release states.
For more information, call Willard Fields at 719-3672 or Pastor Rod Koopmans at 778-0520, or e-mail to jazz1@nameplanet.com.

Aug. 31, 2001 – The U.S. Postal Service has closed the mail collection pans located at 1138 King Street, Christiansted, in front of the Pentheny Building until further notice.
Postal customers in the area can use the collection pans located at 1114 King Street across from Government House, the Christiansted postmaster, Ellen Petersen, said in a release.
Further information may be obtained by calling the postmaster's office at 773-1505.

Services will be Wednesday, Sept. 5, at Creque's Chapel for Rudolph Henley Sr., who died Aug. 28 on St. Thomas. Viewing will begin at 8 a.m., with the funeral at 8:30. Burial will follow in the Western Cemetery.
He is survived by his wife, Cynthia; his son, Rudolph Henley Jr.; his daughter, Beverly Henley; six nieces, Auda, Sala and Gigi Sille, Memorita and Pacifica Williams, and Voricia Simmonds; a nephew, Floyd Williams; and his friend Oralda Williams.

The Government Employees Retirement System will hold a daylong pre-retirement workshop for members over 30 years of age in the third-floor conference room of the GERS Building on St. Thomas. Topics to be covered include Social Security, health insurance, system benefits, financial planning and legal rights. The deadline to pre-register is Friday, Sept. 7. Call 776-7703, ext. 4202 or 4203.

Aug. 31, 2001- The Government Employees Retirement System invites members over 30 years of age to participate in a pre-retirement workshop on Wednesday, Sept. 12, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the conference room on the third floor of the GERS Building on St. Thomas.
It will be an opportunity for government workers to learn more about their benefits, including Social Security, health insurance coverage and system benefits, as well as financial planning and legal rights.
Seating is limited and the deadline for pre-registation is Friday, Sept. 7. To pre-register or to obtain further information about the workshop, call 776-7703, ext. 4202 or 4203.

It was interesting to observe the machinations of the senators who squashed the animal rights bill Thursday, using the absence of penalties for cockfighting as the excuse.
Sen. Norma Pickard-Samuel, in what looked like pure political posturing, said she could not vote for a bill she found "hypocritical" because it didn't outlaw cockfighting.
In other words, no loaf at all was better than three-quarters of a loaf.
We believe a majority of voters strongly supported this bill as written. However, if it is amended to outlaw cockfighting — and we sincerely hope that happens — we are sure the voters will remember the senator’s pledge to vote for it with such a ban.
The problem, of course, is that outlawing cockfighting probably makes the bill less palatable politically. Cockfighting – as cruel and inhumane as it is – is, unfortunately, an institution in this territory.
We can only hope that some sincere anti-cruelty senator will get the bill together again and keep putting it before the Senate until lawmakers vote to take a principled and practical stand against cruelty and violence.
The recent spate of violence in the territory has its roots in an attitude that life has little value.
Maybe if we start with valuing the life of helpless creatures, we can move on to valuing the lives of children and then maybe even adults.
How much more testimony do we need to the fact that abuse of animals is directly tied to abuse of children, women and others before we take a constructive step toward curbing the violence? Sadly, many of our senators are – hypocritically – part of the problem, not part of the solution.

The Good Hope School will hold its Starlight Gala Auction at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 27, on the Good Hope School campus. It is a black-tie affair, with an evening of gourmet dining and treasures to bid upon.
Proceeds will benefit the Good Hope School Scholarship Program.

Aug. 31, 2001 – A move by major airlines which could cut off the territory's lifeline to mainland overnight tourists drew travel agents, tourism officials, retailers and hotel representatives to the Caribbean Travel Agency in Havensight Thursday to talk about what they can do about it. One thing they agreed on: They can't just sit back and let it happen.
The meeting was held during a two-hour closing of travel agencies across the nation to protest the drastically reduced cap on travel agent commissions recently announced by most of the major airlines for domestic travel.
The closing, a "Nationwide Day of Awareness," was called by the American Society of Travel Agents to protest what ASTA says is the airlines' intention to put their agencies out of business. Travel agents on St. Croix and St. John also closed their doors for the specified period, from 1 to 3 p.m.
The commission cap was reduced from $50 to $20 on round-trip domestic tickets. The territory is considered an international destination for travelers from the mainland in all instances except for passenger ticketing. Thus the reduced cap can save the airlines millions of dollars a year in commissions on travel to the territory.
Federal Department of Transportation statistics show that for the year ended June 30, 2000, the number of long-haul passengers arriving or departing St. Thomas on regularly scheduled flights totaled 655,330, the approximate equivalent of 327,665 round-trip travelers. At $50 per round-trip, commissions would amount to nearly $16.4 million. At $20, they would come to a little over $6.5 million.
Last week, four days after American Airlines became the first carrier to announce the commission cuts, Delegate Donna Christian Christensen wrote to the airline president protesting the move and asking him to rescind it because it "would certainly damage this small U.S. tourism market."
Christensen noted that the cutback in commissions for travel to the territory while a $100 cap remained in place for foreign travel would "discourage travel agents from booking flights to the Virgin Islands, because they would be able to get a higher commission by booking their customers to other Caribbean islands under a foreign flag."
A representative of the delegate's St. Thomas office was unable to attend Thursday's meeting because of a gas spill near Frenchtown which cut off traffic to town. However, Shawn-Michael Malone said calls to his office were being answered by a message stating Christensen was in support of the travel agents' protest.
Courtney Gabrielson, secretary-treasurer of Caribbean Travel, told the Source Friday morning, "It's all well and good to write to the airlines; we appreciate it. But we need something stronger. I think the delegate should contact the Departments of Justice and Transportation. The airlines have shut down so many agencies already; I think it's time we stop wringing our hands and take strong federal action. I'm sure there's collusion going on here."
The cap also affects Puerto Rico, where a five-hour closing of travel agencies and a march to local government offices were held Thursday, according to Lyn Shoemaker, owner of Paradise Travel, one of about 20 travel agents who attended the meet Thursday on St. Thomas.
At the meeting, Joseph Aubain, executive director of the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce, suggested forming an alliance with Puerto Rico to fight the new cap.
Gabrielson told the group: "It's not just about travel agents. This is our livelihood — the territory's livelihood, the hotels', the taxis', the retailers', the restaurants', everybody's. We have to have tourists, and if the stateside agents don't sell the Virgin Islands, where will we be?"
The effect is inevitable, she added: "Why would stateside agents sell the V.I. for a $20 commission when they could sell, say, Tortola or St. Martin and make the $100 international commission? It's a very serious matter."
Gabrielson and her sister, Brooks Brown, president of Caribbean Travel, which has been doing business on St. Thomas since the 1960s, spoke at the meeting about the personal aspect of the issue, as well. "The Internet is not personal, and many people don't want to give their credit card number to a website," Brown said. Also, she said, travel agents often can get better fares than those available on the net — and make all the client's arrangements at one time.
Gabrielson said customer service is a concern, too, posing the problems for "the person who doesn't have a computer, or somebody who doesn't speak English well." She said, "I feel terrible for those people. They're at such a disadvantage. What are they going to do without travel agents to check fares for them and help them? Go to the airport and stand in line for hours?"
Brown said many of her company's clients don't like to use credit cards even in person. "They come in with their cash and tell us where they want to go, and we're in business," she said. "We've been doing it for years."
Angela Belfon of World Wide Travel and Shirley Monsanto of Monsanto Travel, who between them have about 60 years of local travel expertise, agreed. "We have to help our people," Belfon said. "They depend on us."
All of the agents agreed the $20 cap could put them out of business, but Belfon said, "That won't happen; we're going to fight this." Among other things, they have employees to protect, she said.
Henry W. DeLagarde, general manager for the Tourism Department's North American offices, said, "My feeling is this didn't happen overnight. It raises the question of an antitrust suit. The major carriers use the destination 'international' when it suits their needs." He said all six of the mainland Tourism offices closed during the ASTA protest period Thursday.
Richard Doumeng, president of the St. Thomas-St. John Hotel and Tourism Association, termed the "domestic" designation for ticketing to the territory "the final insult." He said, "The airlines use 'international' to make people go through customs and immigration and take much longer booking flights, but when it comes to money, to caps, it's domestic."
Doumeng said about one-third of the guests who stay at his property, Bolongo Bay Beach Club and Villas, "go to our website" for information, "but only about 2 percent book from it. They still want personal service; they go to their travel agent."
Rina Jacobs McBrowne, Government House spokeswoman, said she was there representing the governor, who was on St .Croix meeting with Tourism Commissioner Pamela Richards. McBrowne and Monique Sibilly-Hodge, assistant tourism commissioner, said the governor and Richards were working on a strategy to fight the commission cap, and that the plan would be announced soon.
Aubain said on Friday that he and the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber president, John de Jongh Jr., have written to Gov. Charles W. Turnbull and to Christensen suggesting that the territory form an alliance with Puerto Rico to fight the domestic cap.
Gabrielson said Friday she was very encouraged by Thursday's show of support. "We're just not going to just sit back and take this," she said. "We can't."

Aug. 31, 2001 – A move by major airlines which could cut off the territory's lifeline to mainland overnight tourists drew travel agents, tourism officials, retailers and hotel representatives to the Caribbean Travel Agency on St. Thomas Thursday to talk about what they can do about it. One thing they agreed on: They can't just sit back and let it happen.
The meeting was held during a two-hour closing of travel agencies across the nation to protest the drastically reduced cap on travel agent commissions recently announced by most of the major airlines for domestic travel.
The closing, a "Nationwide Day of Awareness," was called by the American Society of Travel Agents to protest what ASTA says is the airlines' intention to put their agencies out of business. Travel agents on St. Croix and St. John also closed their doors for the specified period, from 1 to 3 p.m.
The commission cap was reduced from $50 to $20 on round-trip domestic tickets. The territory is considered an international destination for travelers from the mainland in all instances except for passenger ticketing. Thus the reduced cap can save the airlines millions of dollars a year in commissions on travel to the territory.
Federal Department of Transportation statistics show that for the year ended June 30, 2000, the number of long-haul passengers arriving or departing St. Thomas on regularly scheduled flights totaled 655,330, the approximate equivalent of 327,665 round-trip travelers. At $50 per round-trip, commissions would amount to nearly $16.4 million. At $20, they would come to a little over $6.5 million.
Last week, four days after American Airlines became the first carrier to announce the commission cuts, Delegate Donna Christian Christensen wrote to the airline president protesting the move and asking him to rescind it because it "would certainly damage this small U.S. tourism market."
Christensen noted that the cutback in commissions for travel to the territory while a $100 cap remained in place for foreign travel would "discourage travel agents from booking flights to the Virgin Islands, because they would be able to get a higher commission by booking their customers to other Caribbean islands under a foreign flag."
A representative of the delegate's St. Thomas office was unable to attend Thursday's meeting because of a gas spill near Frenchtown which cut off traffic to town. However, Shawn-Michael Malone said calls to his office were being answered by a message stating Christensen was in support of the travel agents' protest.
Courtney Gabrielson, secretary-treasurer of Caribbean Travel, told the Source Friday morning, "It's all well and good to write to the airlines; we appreciate it. But we need something stronger. I think the delegate should contact the Departments of Justice and Transportation. The airlines have shut down so many agencies already; I think it's time we stop wringing our hands and take strong federal action. I'm sure there's collusion going on here."
The cap also affects Puerto Rico, where a five-hour closing of travel agencies and a march to local government offices were held Thursday, according to Lyn Shoemaker, owner of Paradise Travel, one of about 20 travel agents who attended the meet Thursday on St. Thomas.
At the meeting, Joseph Aubain, executive director of the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce, suggested forming an alliance with Puerto Rico to fight the new cap.
Gabrielson told the group: "It's not just about travel agents. This is our livelihood — the territory's livelihood, the hotels', the taxis', the retailers', the restaurants', everybody's. We have to have tourists, and if the stateside agents don't sell the Virgin Islands, where will we be?"
The effect is inevitable, she added: "Why would stateside agents sell the V.I. for a $20 commission when they could sell, say, Tortola or St. Martin and make the $100 international commission? It's a very serious matter."
Gabrielson and her sister, Brooks Brown, president of Caribbean Travel, which has been doing business on St. Thomas since the 1960s, spoke at the meeting about the personal aspect of the issue, as well. "The Internet is not personal, and many people don't want to give their credit card number to a website," Brown said. Also, she said, travel agents often can get better fares than those available on the net — and make all the client's arrangements at one time.
Gabrielson said customer service is a concern, too, posing the problems for "the person who doesn't have a computer, or somebody who doesn't speak English well." She said, "I feel terrible for those people. They're at such a disadvantage. What are they going to do without travel agents to check fares for them and help them? Go to the airport and stand in line for hours?"
Brown said many of her company's clients don't like to use credit cards even in person. "They come in with their cash and tell us where they want to go, and we're in business," she said. "We've been doing it for years."
Angela Belfon of World Wide Travel and Shirley Monsanto of Monsanto Travel, who between them have about 60 years of local travel expertise, agreed. "We have to help our people," Belfon said. "They depend on us."
All of the agents agreed the $20 cap could put them out of business, but Belfon said, "That won't happen; we're going to fight this." Among other things, they have employees to protect, she said.
Henry W. DeLagarde, general manager for the Tourism Department's North American offices, said, "My feeling is this didn't happen overnight. It raises the question of an antitrust suit. The major carriers use the destination 'international' when it suits their needs." He said all six of the mainland Tourism offices closed during the ASTA protest period Thursday.
Richard Doumeng, president of the St. Thomas-St. John Hotel and Tourism Association, termed the "domestic" designation for ticketing to the territory "the final insult." He said, "The airlines use 'international' to make people go through customs and immigration and take much longer booking flights, but when it comes to money, to caps, it's domestic."
Doumeng said about one-third of the guests who stay at his property, Bolongo Bay Beach Club and Villas, "go to our website" for information, "but only about 2 percent book from it. They still want personal service; they go to their travel agent."
Rina Jacobs McBrowne, Government House spokeswoman, said she was there representing the governor, who was on St .Croix meeting with Tourism Commissioner Pamela Richards. McBrowne and Monique Sibilly-Hodge, assistant tourism commissioner, said the governor and Richards were working on a strategy to fight the commission cap, and that the plan would be announced soon.
Aubain said on Friday that he and the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber president, John de Jongh Jr., have written to Gov. Charles W. Turnbull and to Christensen suggesting that the territory form an alliance with Puerto Rico to fight the domestic cap.
Gabrielson said Friday she was very encouraged by Thursday's show of support. "We're just not going to just sit back and take this," she said. "We can't."

Aug. 31, 2001 – A move by major airlines which could cut off the territory's lifeline to mainland overnight tourists drew travel agents, tourism officials, retailers and hotel representatives to the Caribbean Travel Agency on St. Thomas Thursday to talk about what they can do about it. One thing they agreed on: They can't just sit back and let it happen.
The meeting was held during a two-hour closing of travel agencies across the nation to protest the drastically reduced cap on travel agent commissions recently announced by most of the major airlines for domestic travel.
The closing, a "Nationwide Day of Awareness," was called by the American Society of Travel Agents to protest what ASTA says is the airlines' intention to put their agencies out of business. Travel agents on St. Croix and St. John also closed their doors for the specified period, from 1 to 3 p.m.
The commission cap was reduced from $50 to $20 on round-trip domestic tickets. The territory is considered an international destination for travelers from the mainland in all instances except for passenger ticketing. Thus the reduced cap can save the airlines millions of dollars a year in commissions on travel to the territory.
Federal Department of Transportation statistics show that for the year ended June 30, 2000, the number of long-haul passengers arriving or departing St. Thomas on regularly scheduled flights totaled 655,330, the approximate equivalent of 327,665 round-trip travelers. At $50 per round-trip, commissions would amount to nearly $16.4 million. At $20, they would come to a little over $6.5 million.
Last week, four days after American Airlines became the first carrier to announce the commission cuts, Delegate Donna Christian Christensen wrote to the airline president protesting the move and asking him to rescind it because it "would certainly damage this small U.S. tourism market."
Christensen noted that the cutback in commissions for travel to the territory while a $100 cap remained in place for foreign travel would "discourage travel agents from booking flights to the Virgin Islands, because they would be able to get a higher commission by booking their customers to other Caribbean islands under a foreign flag."
A representative of the delegate's St. Thomas office was unable to attend Thursday's meeting because of a gas spill near Frenchtown which cut off traffic to town. However, Shawn-Michael Malone said calls to his office were being answered by a message stating Christensen was in support of the travel agents' protest.
Courtney Gabrielson, secretary-treasurer of Caribbean Travel, told the Source Friday morning, "It's all well and good to write to the airlines; we appreciate it. But we need something stronger. I think the delegate should contact the Departments of Justice and Transportation. The airlines have shut down so many agencies already; I think it's time we stop wringing our hands and take strong federal action. I'm sure there's collusion going on here."
The cap also affects Puerto Rico, where a five-hour closing of travel agencies and a march to local government offices were held Thursday, according to Lyn Shoemaker, owner of Paradise Travel, one of about 20 travel agents who attended the meet Thursday on St. Thomas.
At the meeting, Joseph Aubain, executive director of the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce, suggested forming an alliance with Puerto Rico to fight the new cap.
Gabrielson told the group: "It's not just about travel agents. This is our livelihood — the territory's livelihood, the hotels', the taxis', the retailers', the restaurants', everybody's. We have to have tourists, and if the stateside agents don't sell the Virgin Islands, where will we be?"
The effect is inevitable, she added: "Why would stateside agents sell the V.I. for a $20 commission when they could sell, say, Tortola or St. Martin and make the $100 international commission? It's a very serious matter."
Gabrielson and her sister, Brooks Brown, president of Caribbean Travel, which has been doing business on St. Thomas since the 1960s, spoke at the meeting about the personal aspect of the issue, as well. "The Internet is not personal, and many people don't want to give their credit card number to a website," Brown said. Also, she said, travel agents often can get better fares than those available on the net — and make all the client's arrangements at one time.
Gabrielson said customer service is a concern, too, posing the problems for "the person who doesn't have a computer, or somebody who doesn't speak English well." She said, "I feel terrible for those people. They're at such a disadvantage. What are they going to do without travel agents to check fares for them and help them? Go to the airport and stand in line for hours?"
Brown said many of her company's clients don't like to use credit cards even in person. "They come in with their cash and tell us where they want to go, and we're in business," she said. "We've been doing it for years."
Angela Belfon of World Wide Travel and Shirley Monsanto of Monsanto Travel, who between them have about 60 years of local travel expertise, agreed. "We have to help our people," Belfon said. "They depend on us."
All of the agents agreed the $20 cap could put them out of business, but Belfon said, "That won't happen; we're going to fight this." Among other things, they have employees to protect, she said.
Henry W. DeLagarde, general manager for the Tourism Department's North American offices, said, "My feeling is this didn't happen overnight. It raises the question of an antitrust suit. The major carriers use the destination 'international' when it suits their needs." He said all six of the mainland Tourism offices closed during the ASTA protest period Thursday.
Richard Doumeng, president of the St. Thomas-St. John Hotel and Tourism Association, termed the "domestic" designation for ticketing to the territory "the final insult." He said, "The airlines use 'international' to make people go through customs and immigration and take much longer booking flights, but when it comes to money, to caps, it's domestic."
Doumeng said about one-third of the guests who stay at his property, Bolongo Bay Beach Club and Villas, "go to our website" for information, "but only about 2 percent book from it. They still want personal service; they go to their travel agent."
Rina Jacobs McBrowne, Government House spokeswoman, said she was there representing the governor, who was on St .Croix meeting with Tourism Commissioner Pamela Richards. McBrowne and Monique Sibilly-Hodge, assistant tourism commissioner, said the governor and Richards were working on a strategy to fight the commission cap, and that the plan would be announced soon.
Aubain said on Friday that he and the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber president, John de Jongh Jr., have written to Gov. Charles W. Turnbull and to Christensen suggesting that the territory form an alliance with Puerto Rico to fight the domestic cap.
Gabrielson said Friday she was very encouraged by Thursday's show of support. "We're just not going to just sit back and take this," she said. "We can't."